Project 81 c10.

[Briguy]

I picked up a 81 c10 a few weeks ago and been doing some research on what I need to fix and how ect. I got the truck for a grand because the shift linkage dropped the r/1 linkage to far and it would jam up, and the guy was pouring gas into the top of the carb to get it to start if it hadn't been run for a few hours. Other than that it was a good running truck it has the 250 I6 and a 3 on the tree and about as basic as you can get. I have power steering and that's it as far as options go as far as I can tell.

So far I have tightened the bolt in the shift linkage and eliminated that problem and then replaced the worn out vacuum lines so the choke works and it starts normally now. I swapped out my vent windows for a set with a functioning bottom hinge.

Hopefully I will get a chance and replace the pins and bushings so the doors will close properly this weekend. When pay day comes around I will order new window and door seals.

I plan on putting a lot of time into the truck to make it comfortable to drive and looking good. No plans on doing a motor swap at this time I get about 20 MPG on the highway out of the 6.

Wishlist ( hopefully a list that will shrink every week or 2 )

Prothane complete kit to replace all that 30 year old rubber.
Need to drop the truck and right now thinking 4/6 seems to be reasonable and still allow me to throw stuff in the back if I want to.
Sliding rear window
Have not spent any time looking at rims yet but I will replace the steel at some point.
Need some carpet or new floor mat
Sound proofing the cab some.
Going to buy or make some lower door panels to house some speakers.
Build some speaker enclosures for that space beside/behind the seat in the side of the truck.
Power windows and locks.
Shave the door handles and install those !%#$ poppers I have had in my tool box for the past 15 years.
Figure out a better seat would prefer having the center section fold down into a console.
Replace my damaged seat belt and dye them.
Replace the very destroyed dash.
Repair/ paint door panels.
Paint the truck 2 tone gunmetal grey and silver.
Replace broken plastic grill with a nice billet one.
And tons more little things I'm sure.

Will upload a picture of the truck as it sits now in a bit.
Thoughts and suggestions are welcome and encouraged. I'm new to trucks but I know my way around my large collection of tools. I have a few other projects sitting around so I'm sure some attention and money will be spent on them along the way. the major differance being that the truck actually runs right now lol.

[LeoP]

Congrats on the purchase and Welcome to the site. It looks like you have a good plan already. As you know, the money is what takes so long to get these old trucks back in shape. I am currently doing work on an 80 GMC Indy Hauler, the going is slow for a retiree on a limited income.

[Briguy]

Money is a big part of it. I'm ADD though so I can't just work on one thing at once. I have a 75 Vega I'm doing prep work on for a 4.3 swap and a 97 Eclipse about ready to go to the dyno for a tune with the new stroker motor and turbo set up. And last but not least is my 66 Nova wagon I'm working on restoring.

I'm planing on ordering my window seals from LMC this weekend unless someone can recommend an alternative.

[Desert Chevies]

Welcome Briguy !

I picked up an '82 this past spring from a widow of the original owner
and being a desert truck most anything rubber is needing replacement.

I looked at LMC & E-Bay for the door and wing seals, but I bumped into
a guy who suggested I try this place. wwwthechromeguy.com and
not only did they have what I needed in stock it was just a 10min. ride.

Good luck and I'll look forward to your updates !

[GaToy]

Looks like a solid truck.

[rich weyand]

Hi:

I've done the seats and speakers parts, and I like the way they've turned out.

Changing seats is tough, because the raised floor to accommodate the fuel tanks gives very little room for seat mechanicals underneath. You can't just pop anything in there. I bought a set of heated leather buckets made specifically for the truck. They have a jump seat that folds into a console, which sounds like where you're headed. The thread on my install, with pics, is here: http://www.fullsizechevy.com/forum/g...s-install.html.

For speakers, I put a subwoofer on metal brackets just in front of the rear wall of the cab, which works because the center console is folded down almost all the time. The thread on that install, with pics, is here: http://www.fullsizechevy.com/forum/g...oobs-rcsb.html

For the main speakers, my truck had a Highliner headliner, which has four speakers in it, two for the driver and two for the passenger. I put the driver's speakers on front and the passenger's on rear, so I can fader them to me when driving alone. I really like having the speakers in the ceiling instead of in the doors. Here's the Highliner headliner: http://www.dashtop.com/products/high...ll-size-pickup The speakers that come with these suck, so I put in four Kicker DS400s, which are very nice and work well with the subwoofer. Here's how I replaced the speakers without removing the headliner, which won't be your problem but it does talk about the speakers a bit: http://www.fullsizechevy.com/forum/g...placement.html

The head unit can go in the Highliner, which has a spot for it in the center. I preferred it in the dash, so I put a Euro 1-DIN frame into the stock location. That thread with a pic is here: http://www.fullsizechevy.com/forum/g...-mods-pix.html

Hope these help give you some ideas!

Rich

[13bre_tt]

Looks nice! Deff a solid looking truck

[Briguy]

Rich thanks for the reading material.

So this weekend I kind of slacked off but the speedo cable has now been replaced and the truck is a much nicer place to ride now. Got hinge rebuild kit for the doors but 107 outside so it can wait another week.

Just got paid so now the hard part of figuring out what on the list comes first.

[rich weyand]

I would replace the door rubber first. Keep the water from getting in and ruining all your other work and rusting out the footwells.

[Briguy]

The door gaskets and window seals are on the way already

Going to play with the 6x9's in the back today and see if I can get them figured out at least. Started a cardboard box for a 10 inch sub to sit kind of under the dash in front of the seat. Since mine is a 3 on the tree I have the low hump there and no shifter in the way so I could make a decent sized box and still leave 13 inches or so of foot room between the console and the front of the seat. If I can come up with a design I like I will go pick up some MDF and go from there.

I have crank windows so probably just going to mount a set of 6 x 9 in the doors and run them off the 4 channel amp I already have. So basic sound system ( not counting sub or center console ) should be done this weekend if its not to hot to work on it. ( not having a garage is lame)

Thinking pretty hard about making lowering the truck the next project.

Found a salvage yard that claims to have several truck with good interiors so Saturday going to go see if I can replace my destroyed stuff with a good interior.

[kelseyssp]

Looks like you have some good work in front of you. Good luck! Keep us posted!

[07Burb]

We need pics of the project!

[GreaseDog]

Going to play with the 6x9's in the back today and see if I can get them figured out at least. Started a cardboard box for a 10 inch sub to sit kind of under the dash in front of the seat. Since mine is a 3 on the tree I have the low hump there and no shifter in the way so I could make a decent sized box and still leave 13 inches or so of foot room between the console and the front of the seat. If I can come up with a design I like I will go pick up some MDF and go from there.

a couple things to think about... Heater outlets are in the lower center of the dash. You don't want to just block them.

I have crank windows so probably just going to mount a set of 6 x 9 in the doors and run them off the 4 channel amp I already have. So basic sound system ( not counting sub or center console ) should be done this weekend if its not to hot to work on it. ( not having a garage is lame)

Thinking pretty hard about making lowering the truck the next project.

Found a salvage yard that claims to have several truck with good interiors so Saturday going to go see if I can replace my destroyed stuff with a good interior.

From an accoustic stand point, door speakers are a terrible idea, unless you have ears on your feet. Look at kick panel enclosures, or theabove mentioned headliner for better results. You're supposed to be able to swap the rear 4x10 brackets side for side (ps on ds, ds on ps) and open them up to accommodate a 6x9 in the stock location, this position makes for an acceptable rear fill with a good quality front stage. If you decide to go with the headliner option, through out the production run of these trucks, the radio was an option, though the cutout in the dash was standard. There is a factory blockoff plate available to fill the radio hole, though they are very rare, they are out there.

[Briguy]

Okay so got the weather stripping replaced all but the interior drivers door sweep which I got the wrong part. So sent the email off to try and fix that and get the wing window gaskets on order as well. The truck is so quiet to ride in now lol no more rattles and clanks.

Fixed the hinges on both doors so slamming is no longer required.

Now for the stereo stuff. Thanks for the heads up on the heater vents I will take a look at that and see if I want to reroute them to be somewhere more useful or just scrap the console idea.

As far as 6x9 in the doors I'm going to go to the local stereo shop and get some spacers and then cut them at an angle to point the speakers up a few degree's. I don't really like the kick panels mostly since I have the 6x9's and I don't have components and I'm not sure if the kick panels would interfere with my pull vents.

My truck doesn't have a headliner in it and I think I am going to keep it that way.

Now the rear speakers I got the cardboard out and mocked up some boxes for the back and when I get around to it I will cut and fit the MDF for them. I try not to buy what I can make.

I'm far from an expert on stereo's but anything I do is going to be an improvement over the 6x9's firing directly into the back of my seat.

Going to keep the cheap deck its got in it if possible just because I like the fact it has a usb charger for my phone and the 3.5 jack right on the front. I have a 4 channel amp I'm going to use to push the 2 sets of 6x9's I already own. So I should wind up with a decent set up without having to buy anything but some MDF.

I will post pictures when I can but have to have 5 posts...think that means after this post hehe so next post pictures will be present.

The bearing in my alternator is starting to squeal so it has jumped to the top of replacement parts followed by a seat and a heavy duty rubber floor covering.

[LeoP]

get a kit and replace the alt bearings and brushes yourself. Piece of cake.

[Briguy]

get a kit and replace the alt bearings and brushes yourself. Piece of cake.

Is it not worth it to upgrade to the 100 amp? I'm not putting a huge system in it so it might be completely unnecessary to swap I guess. Any input on this guys?

[rich weyand]

I just put the normal alternator in and it works fine. It locks up (pulls in to the regulator voltage) even at idle. I have a four speaker stereo, a 600 watt (peak) subwoofer, and Hella E-code headlights, and I don't have any problem maintaining voltage. The big issue seems to be the voltage regulator. If you blow a diode, then the voltage will fall out of lock at idle. That's what happened to mine, and why I replaced it.

[Briguy]

Fair enough will hunt a rebuild kit then.

[Brat-Man]

Would be good if there were some pictures to look at!

[Briguy]

Okay well still haven't gotten around to fixing the stereo stuff or even really looked at it. I got some LED bulbs to replace my dash lights and got those installed and they look fantastic and will try and remember to get a pic tonight to post up. How ever I did manage to break the needle off my gas gauge. I found it but when I picked it up it just crumbled. Is there any place to buy just the needles for the gauges or do I have to replace the entire assembly ?